MY EXAMS ARE OVER AND MY SUMMER HOLIDAYS HAVE BEGUN! I know Mimi is a bit OOC here. To Jyorakoumi, get a life and stop flaming everyone's stories! Thanks alot to Maia's Pen, fiery autumn, absolutgirl and Princessstphanie for your reviews! I really appreciated it1 This chapter is dedicated to you guys!

Disclaimer: I do no own Digimon or the Wind Singer Trilogy

Chapter 2

The celebrations of the festival of Jinkara continued and no one noticed the huge army of the Mastery creeping closer to the walls of Aramarne. The army stuffed padding into their shoes and armor so they would not alert the sentries on watch. The army shuffled forward as the bright moon cast a dim light on them. The army hurried forward into the shadows of the gigantic walls of the city. The men pressed their backs against the wall in silence. If they failed this mission the consequences would be great. They glanced towards their leader for reassurance but found none. His icy blue eyes held no warmth. He raised his hand and the men pulled out the ropes they had been carrying. They tied the ends of the ropes into a loop and threw it up. They tugged on the ropes to see if they were stable and then began scaling the wall.

As soon as they reached the top of the wall, their leader pointed to the watchtowers on opposite each other. Two men immediately sprinted to the towers and dragged out four sentries who were cowering in fear. The soldiers threw the sentries onto the feet of their leader. The four sentries looked up with terror in their eyes and whispered, Yamato…Yamato Ishida!" Yamato smirked and slit their throats. They slumped against the wall, their blank eyes watching the army. He gestured to Daisuke and the maroon-haired man nodded and began walking in one direction. Half of the army followed him and the other half stood nervously awaiting orders from Yamato. Yamato raised his hand and pointed to the other side of the wall. The army immediately dropped down and crawled to the other side.

They peeked over the wall and looked down at the brightly coloured festival below. Aramarne has become weak, what was once the greatest city in the world is now almost powerless. They will be helpless against the attack of the mastery, which is soon to be the most powerful civilization on this planet. Father will be pleased, mused Yamato to himself, and soon I shall be the most powerful ruler on the earth! Yamato glanced around and spotted Daisuke a small distance away from him. All the people will be near the center of the city, at the festival. So they needed to get through the many districts of Aramarne.

They climbed down the wall and crept through the gray ramshackle buildings. They dodged in and out of the moonlight and strolled cautiously into the maroon district. Yamato hissed as a group of children yelling merrily played a cheerful game of hide and seek. The army froze in their tracks as the children ran by, but the children were too absorbed in their game to pay attention to the half hidden army. Yamato smirked everything is falling into place. They continued marching through the orange and the scarlet district. Towards the end of the scarlet district they stopped. Daisuke would surely be at the other side by now. Victory for the Mastery would soon be in place.


Takeru smiled at Hikari as he twirled her around on the dance floor. It had been a magical night; he still couldn't believe that he was dancing with a white, let alone one as beautiful as Hikari. He scanned the carnival for Taichi and Mimi.

"Where do you think Mimi and Taichi have disappeared to?" asked Takeru.

"I don't know, those two have always been very close, they haven't seen each other in months, so they probably needed some time alone to talk." Replied Hikari.

"How long have you known Mimi for?" whispered Takeru.

"As long as I can remember. Taichi and Mimi have been friends since I've been born. She and my brother also had another friend called Koushiro. He ran away after his parents passed away. After that Mimi changed a lot. I remember she was spoilt and whiny when she was a child, but now she seems to become quieter, more serious and withdrawn." Said Hikari

"Where could he have gone?"

"I don't know," muttered Hikari.

She smiled up at him and he held her gaze. Both of them stood together capturing each other's gaze in the middle of the dance floor.


Meanwhile Yamato and Daisuke encircled the festival. They prepared for the ambush, pulling out their swords and testing the strings of the bow. The archers pulled out three arrows. They nocked one and held the other two. Daisuke pulled out his hand-and-a-half sword and stared at it fondly. Yamato drew out a long noble sword from the sheath at his hip. The silver blade gleamed in the moonlight. The sword suited him perfectly. He was tall with blonde hair. He was more lanky than muscular and his perfect features were contorted in a grim expression. His armor shone in the dull light and his wine red cape fluttered in the breeze. He signaled for the men to move forward to the outskirts of the festival. Everyone was at the festival, so the whole city of Aramarne would be at his mercy.
Mimi slowly climbed down the stairs of Taichi's grand house. He followed her closely behind. They could still hear the loud, cheerful noises of the festival. They reached the bottom floor and he took her hand and led her out of the door. The cool, night breeze hit their faces and they scanned the crowd and spotted Hikari and Takeru on the dance floor.

Mimi smiled, "they look so cute together!"

Taichi frowned and said reluctantly, "yes, I guess…"

Suddenly a scream emerged form the crowd and from the top of the palace, hundreds of arrows began raining down on the city. An army of men came bursting out of their hiding places. Mimi shrieked as an arrow hit her feet. She leaped back, wrenching her hand from Taichi's grip.

"Mimi run!" he yelled, " I'm going to find Hikari!"

She reluctantly nodded and watched him run into the chaotic crowd. The food stands were overturned, causing piles of plates and fruits to tumble down, smashing apart as they hit the ground. Screams and yells echoed throughout the entire city square. She watched the men in armor jostle the crowd forward, killing anyone who dared defy them. Mimi spotted her parents in the crowd. They mouthed the word "run" to her. Mimi picked up the bottom of her robes and dashed towards the palace. A maroon-haired man called out to her but he was wearing armor so she didn't stop. She reached the gates of the palace and began climbing over them. A few arrows hit the gates and caught onto her robes, ripping and tearing them, she let out a small sob and jumped to the bottom of the gate. She started towards the palace door but tripped and fell. She could hear the men thundering towards her but that gave her the exhilaration to get up and run. She picked up the pace as she saw the door coming closer and closer. She reached the door and tugged it open. She slipped inside and bolted it shut. She fell back against the door panting. She heard loud bangs behind her so she jumped forward, the door would not keep them away for long.

This was the first time she had been in the palace but she was too scared to stop and look. She ran into along and narrow corridor. She banged into a desk and let out a loud scream, her heart beating hard against her chest. The long portraits of past emperors stared back at her. She squirmed under their never-wavering gaze. They were all tall with powerful shoulders. Their strong chins were decorated with small white goatees. They wore rich green robes with white embroidery. She stared at them but then she heard a loud bang. They have broken in! She ran, waving her hands wildly until she reached a wooden, brown spiral staircase. It spiraled upwards and disappeared into the next floor. She looked behind her and heard a pair of footsteps approaching her. She reached for the stairs and hauled herself up. She ran up the stairs constantly glancing over her shoulder. The stairs kept going up. She passed the red-carpeted rooms with the old straight-backed chairs. I'm never going to make it! She ran up and glanced at the men running up behind her. They were just a few floors below her and were closing in. She had never been great at running but she managed to stay ahead of the soldiers. Mimi turned around and ran straight into a wall.

Tears streaked down her face, as she breathed to herself, "No! No! No!"

As a last desperate attempt to save herself, she shoved the wall as if it would suddenly swing open, but it did! A secret passage! After she sent one last glance over glance over her shoulder she turned and dashed into the room and swung the wall shut. She stood there as the blackness enveloped her. Suddenly a low candle flickered to life, casting the room into a dim light. An old fat man stood near the candle, holding a flickering match. Mimi opened her mouth to scream but the old man quickly clamped his hand over her mouth.

"Be quiet! Are they gone?" he whispered.

She shook her head and he slowly removed his hand from her mouth. Mimi studied him for a second. He wore long green robes with white embroidery, the robes stretched over his large stomach and a small goatee hid his rather weak chin. The realization began to dawn upon her he was the emperor! He didn't look like any of his ancestors. He wasn't paying much attention to Mimi but he had his ear pressed against the wall. Mimi listened hard too; she heard the faint footsteps of the men who had chased her here. She heard the scuffling of feet and the soft orders being given out. She turned away from the wall and glanced at the emperor's room. In the middle of the room stood a large white rug. On top of the rug stood a small polished, brown table with a bowl of chocolates on it. In the corner of the room stood the emperor's huge four-poster bed. It had bright red hangings with gold tassels that caused tiny little lights to dance across the room. Two cushy armchairs were seated around the table. A small library took up one side of the room. It contained many books of all sizes and colours. The emperor still had his ear pressed against the wall. One question stayed in Mimi's mind, why would they lock him up in here?

He turned to her and whispered, "they are gone." He sighed with relief. "I am Gennai, (A/N: sorry I know that he doesn't look much like Gennai but I wanted to put Gennai in the story) the emperor of Aramarne."

"I am Mimi Tachikawa. Why did they lock you up in here?" asked Mimi.

"You are the daughter of one of the Grand Council elders, are you not? I am old and I know too much. The Grand Council believes that I will upturn Aramarne and bring the city to its knees with my beliefs that the whole of Aramarne should be equal. The Council elders believe that with no districts there shall be know control. Nobody would strive harder to do better to get promoted to the next district. With no one trying to do better, Aramarne will be weak," said Gennai and the snorted, "the elders are unaware that Aramarne is weak already. Look how easy it was for the Mastery to take over. I understand that everyone was busy with the festival but they should have expected an attack from the Mastery." He turned his eyes sadly to the only window in his room. The window allowed him to watch over Aramarne.

"The Mastery?" asked Mimi

"The Mastery is as old as Aramarne its self. Their leaders are cruel tyrants whose sole purpose is to rule the entire world. You have come to me! You are Aramarne's last hope, you must save us all!" cried Gennai

Mimi gave him a bewildered look. "What are you talking about old man?" she snapped, " I cannot save Aramarne! You go save Aramarne! What can I do against one of the most powerful civilizations in the world! I cannot take on an entire empire!"

"Don't be ridiculous! You came to me, this means that you are the one to save us all, you are Aramarne's last hope!" said Gennai stubbornly. He got up and walked towards the library and pulled out a thick orange book. He opened it and my muttering to himself he found a page and tore it out. He examined it excitedly and then handed it to Mimi.

"Here is the map that will lead you straight into the heart of the Mastery's empire. Take it and go, the army of the Mastery is going to burn down the palace soon!" said Gennai quickly.

Mimi gaped at him, "How do you know that they are going to burn the castle?"

"I just know," replied Gennai.

He handed her a bow and some arrows. He then hunted underneath his bed and handed her a sword in a lime green sheath. She was about to pull out the sword to examine it but Gennai pushed her hands away. "No time now, look at it later, go now! You must go fast!'

Mimi was still in shock from receiving the weapons but was about to argue. The look in the old man's face made her stop. She suddenly felt the over powering need for revenge, revenge for the suffering of Takeru, Hikari, Taichi, her parents…. She gripped the map tightly and put the bow across her body and hung the tube with arrows on her shoulder. She attached the belt with the sword sheath around her hip as the smell of smoke filled the air.

"How are we supposed to get out of here?" asked Mimi.

Gennai shook his head, "not we just you. You have to do this by yourself. I am too old to come with you and my time is up." He let off a racking cough, "hurry the fire is approaching and it is becoming uncomfortably hot in here." Mimi gave him one last smile and reached for the window.

"When you reach the Mastery, you will know how to save us!" called Gennai.

Mimi hoped onto the ledge and peered down. A group of soldiers stood behind the gate. She looked into the eyes of the army commander as he yelled out orders. The whole population of Aramarne stood behind him, watched carefully by the soldiers. She shivered as she stared into those icy blue eyes. She would never forget those eyes and she would hunt them down till the end of the earth. Revenge. She turned to look into Gennai's room for one last time but he was gone and the flames were already licking the door. The smoke poured out of the room, suffocating her. She slowly climbed down from one ledge to the other, trying not to concentrate on the immense heat surrounding her. She tried to put her foot down on the next ledge but the ledge crumbled. She tumbled down to the ground and hit her head against the debris caused by the soldiers. She tried to concentrate on the blurry back round but everything went black.